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Year 10 - English

Analysing ideas of power and conflict in Blake's 'London'

'Power and Conflict'

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupis explore 12 of the 15 poems from the 'Power and Conflict' anthology. Pupils complete two lessons about each poem: one on understanding and one on analysis. Pupils study the poems in three groups, and they pause after each group to compare how those poems present common themes.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to analyse the presentation of power and conflict in Blake's 'London'.

Key Notes

  • Rigid structure of four quatrains written in octosyllabic lines mirrors the idea that people have no freedom in the city
  • Blake conveys his social commentary through the dramatic monologue of a first person narrator
  • Blake uses lots of repetition in the poem to show how deeply rooted the social issues that he describes are
  • Blake uses juxtaposition to illustrate how easily innocence is lost in the city
  • Blake uses metaphors to highlight the effect of the inaction of leaders and powerful institutions on the vulnerable

Vocabulary To Learn

  • Quatrain: a stanza of four lines
  • Iambic tetrameter: a line of poetry including four beats of one unstressed syllable followed by a second stressed syllable
  • Dramatic monologue: a poem written in the form of speech of an individual character
  • Juxtaposition: when two different things are placed together for contrasting effect
  • Disillusioned: disappointment and lost faith over something once regarded as good

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • The structure of the poem is entirely predictable.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.

Rigid structure of four quatrains written in octosyllabic lines mirrors the idea that people have no freedom in the city. Blake conveys his social commentary through the dramatic monologue of a first person narrator.

2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'Quatrain'

a stanza of four lines.

3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.

Mistake: The structure of the poem is entirely predictable. Correction: Explain to pupils that Blake does break his rigid structure e.g. iambic tetrameter at times.

More Lessons In This Unit

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